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Doctors are more likely to prescribe antibiotics to patients who don't need them during late hours of their shifts, a new study shows.

According to researchers, doctors prescribing antibiotics when not required can be attributed to decision fatigue. Late in their shifts, doctors in many instances focus on taking the safest approach in caring for their patients.

"Just as an observation it kind of makes sense, doctors are human too and we get tired over the course of the day and tend to make worse-appearing decisions," said Dr. Jeffrey A Linder of the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham who coauthored the study, according to Business Insider.

The study involved analysis of healthcare records of patients who visited a primary healthcare facility for acute respiratory problems between 2011 and 2012. Reuters reported out of the 21,867 cases of respiratory infections, in 44 percent cases the doctor prescribed antibiotics. To analyze their data, researchers divided the cases according to the shifts they visited.

Researchers found that during fourth hour of their shift, doctors are 26 percent more likely to prescribe antibiotics when compared to prescriptions in the first hour. Also, in 30 percent of the cases, doctors prescribed antibiotics to people who did not need them.

"Their antibiotic prescribing is inconsistent with the diagnosis they're giving the patient. That 25 to 26 percent should be closer to zero," Linder told Reuters.

António Teixeira Rodrigues, a researcher at the Center for Cell Biology in Portugal, was quoted describing such prescription 'dangerous'.

"It reveals how complex the antibiotic prescribing process is, comprising medical, social and economic issues and should concern health professionals and authorities, and the general population because it increases the complexity and difficulty of tackling this public health problem. We must not forget that antibiotic misuse is one of the main factors underlying the increasing rates of antimicrobial resistances, which is a major public health concern worldwide," he said.